Forest Stewardship Council

FSC POLICY
Policy for the Association of Organizations with FSC
FSC-POL-01-004 V2-0 EN

FSC POLICYFSC GOVERNANCE

© 2011 Forest Stewardship Council A.C. All rights reserved.

Title:

Policy for the Association of Organizations with FSC

Document reference code:

FSC-POL-01-004 V2-0 EN

Scope:

International

Approval:

Part I: July 2009Part II: September 2011

Contact:

FSC Directors OfficeE-mail for comments:

fsc@fsc.org© 2011 Forest Stewardship Council, A.C. All rights reserved.
No part of this work covered by the publisher’s copyright may be reproduced or copied inany form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, recording taping, or information retrieval systems) without the written permissionof the publisher.
Printed copies of this document are for reference only. Please refer to the electronic copy on
the FSC website (www.fsc.org) to ensure you are referring to the latest version.

The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) is an independent, not for profit, non-governmentorganization established to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, andeconomically viable management of the world's forests.
FSC’s vision is that the world’s forests meet the social, ecological, and economic rights andneeds of the present generation without compromising those of future generations.

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CONTENTS
A

Scope

B

Effective date

C

References

DTerms and definitions

Part 1 Policy Elements
Part 2 Policy Implementation

Introduction
FSC’s mission is to promote the environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial andeconomically viable management of the world’s forests. It is increasingly recognized thatassociation between FSC and organizations that are involved in unacceptable forest-related
activities is harmful to FSC’s reputation and ultimately to its ability to deliver on its mission. In
order to address this concern, in March 2007 the FSC Board of Directors mandated the FSC
International Center to develop criteria for the association of third parties with FSC.
Through this policy FSC expects to be able to identify organizations not committed to thebasic fundamentals of responsible forest management and prevent them from misusing theirassociation with FSC.
It is especially relevant, but not limited to, the granting and maintenance of FSC trademark
licenses and FSC certificates to organizations associated with FSC through forest
management, chain of custody and/or controlled wood FSC certification.

Please send any comments or suggestions regarding this document to:
FSC International Center– Directors Office –Charles-de-Gaulle Str. 553113 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49-228-367-66-0
Fax: +49-228-367-66-30
E-Mail: fsc@fsc.org

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AScopeThis Policy provides FSC’s position on unacceptable activities of organizations which are orwould like to be associated with FSC and the mechanism for disassociation.
B

Effective date

Effective upon approval.
CReferences

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including anyamendments) applies.
FSC-STD-01-005 V1-0 EN FSC Dispute Resolution System
FSC-PRO-01-009 Processing Formal Complaints in the FSC Certification Scheme
FSC-PRO-10-004 Due diligence evaluation for the association with FSC
FSC-GUI-01-004 Guideline for Panels evaluating complaints against the Policy forAssociation
DTerms and definitions

For the purposes of this Policy, the terms and definitions given in FSC-STD-01-002 FSC
Glossary of Terms and the following apply:
AssociationAn association with FSC is formally established through any of the following relationships:-FSC membership-

Contractual relationship through:oooo

FSC accreditation agreement,
FSC license agreement,FSC cooperation agreement,
FSC partnership agreement.

Destruction of high conservation values
Significant damage of the attributes that constitute high conservation values in a way thatthey no longer exist or cannot be repaired.
Forest Conversion
Rapid or gradual removal of natural forest, semi-natural forest or other wooded ecosystems
such as woodlands and savannahs to meet other land needs, such as plantations (e.g. pulp
wood, oil palm or coffee), agriculture, pasture, urban settlements, industry or mining. This
process is usually irreversible.
Significant conversion
Conversion is considered significant in any case of:oConversion of High Conservation Value Forests

oConversion of more than 10% of the forest areas under the organization's
responsibility in the past 5 years
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oConversion of more than 10,000 ha of forests under the organization's
responsibility in the past 5 years

NOTE: Failure of the 10,000 ha threshold does not lead to disassociation per se, but willlead to a case by case investigation by an independent Complaints Panel. In judging thecase, the Panel will take into account the local circumstances, the scale of the operation andplans for continued conversion.
NOTE: For the purposes of this policy, the establishment of ancillary infrastructurenecessary to implement the objectives of responsible forest management (forest roads, skidtrails, log landings, etc) is not considered conversion.
Human rights
Rights as established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
Illegal LoggingHarvesting of timber in violation of any laws applicable in that location or jurisdiction
including, but not limited to, laws related to the acquisition of harvesting rights from therightful owner, the harvesting methods used and the payment of all relevant fees androyalties.
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
Adopted in 1998, the Declaration commits Member States to respect and promote principles
and rights in four categories, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.
These categories are: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right tocollective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labor, the abolition of childlabour and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. For
more information, please access: http://www.ilo.org/declaration
Involvement
Direct involvement: Situations in which the associated organization or individual is firsthand responsible for the unacceptable activities.
Indirect involvement: Situations in which the associated organization or individual, with aminimum ownership or voting power of 51%, is involved as a parent or sister company,
subsidiary, shareholder or Board of Directors to an organization directly involved inunacceptable activities. Indirect involvement also includes activities performed bysubcontractors when acting on behalf of the associated organization or individual.
Traditional rights
Rights which result from a long series of habitual or customary actions, constantly repeated,which have, by such repetition and by uninterrupted acquiescence, acquired the force of alaw within a geographical or sociological unit. Also known as customary rights (FSC
Principles and Criteria). It also encompasses the rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples asestablished by the ILO Convention 169.

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PART I - POLICY ELEMENTS
Approved by the FSC Board of Directors at its 51st Meeting, July 2009

1FSC will only allow its association with organizations that are not directly or indirectly
involved in the following unacceptable activities:a) Illegal logging or the trade in illegal wood or forest productsb) Violation of traditional and human rights in forestry operationsc) Destruction of high conservation values in forestry operationsd) Significant conversion of forests to plantations or non-forest usee) Introduction of genetically modified organisms in forestry operationsf)
1

Violation of any of the ILO Core Conventions1

As defined in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

PART II - POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
2Due Diligence

2.1

Before entering into an association with an organization or individual, FSC shallconduct a due diligence evaluation according to FSC-PRO-10-004 to evaluate theexistence of objective evidence that an organization is directly or indirectly involvedin any of the unacceptable activities as listed in Part I Clause 1.

2.2

FSC shall only enter into an association with organizations or individuals that havepassed the due diligence evaluation.

3

Investigations of allegations

3.1

Any stakeholder, including FSC, can file a formal complaint against an organization
or individual that is suspected to be involved in any of the unacceptable activities aslisted in Part I Clause 1.

3.2

Complaints shall be filed and processed in line with the requirements and regulationsof the FSC Dispute Resolution System.

4Disassociation

4.1

A decision to disassociate from FSC shall only be taken by the FSC Board ofDirectors.

4.2

Following the decision to disassociate, actions to terminate the contractual
relationships with the organization or individual should be taken within a period ofthirty (30) days.

4.3

The decision to disassociate cannot be appealed.

4.4

Together with the decision to disassociate, the FSC Board of Directors may specify atimeline and conditions for renewal of the association with FSC.

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